Kyuubi at the Top
by Ami88
Summary: Sasuke just turned 16 and as a custom of Konoha City he has to climb the Mountain of Kyuubi. But what if he isn’t allowed to leave?
1. Chapter 1

Title: Kyuubi at the Top

Author: Ami

Pairing: NaruSasu

Summary: Sasuke just turned 16 and as a custom of Konoha City he has to climb the Mountain of Kyuubi. But what if he isn't allowed to leave?

Disclaimer: I don't own.

Chapter 1: Uchiha Sasuke, second son.

Konoha was a large city in a way. The only problem was that it was separated into 4 small towns. In between those towns there was a large mountain, the mountain of Kyuubi. It was rumoured that the fox demon himself lived in the mountaintops, which were often covered in snow.

The towns were connected with large tunnels that went underneath to mountain. Going around the mountain took to long to get to the other side and to climb over it was exhausting and dangerous. The only time the people of Konoha climbed that mountain was when they came to pray to the small temple at the top.

It was also a custom for everyone who turned 16 to climb the mountain and pray there. Girls often went in groups; boys had to go on their own as a sign of strength and courage. Or so had Uchiha Sasuke been told, repeatedly by his brother, his father…and his classmates. He was the last of his class to turn 16, the last to have to climb that stupid mountain.

Sasuke was often seen as the baby of the class. Last one to climb and his brother Itachi had already climbed the damn thing when he was 12 and once again at 16 to honour the custom. Sasuke hated his brother, resented him, and envied him.

It just wasn't fair. That he, Sasuke as second son of the head of the Uchiha clan, was practically nothing next to his brother. Everywhere in town he was always asked about Itachi. _Itachi is such a good son,_ they say, _he would make all of Konoha proud._ But what about Sasuke. Wasn't he just as a good son as Itachi was? Didn't he do his chores? His homework?

So after years of wondering why he possibly couldn't be just as good as Itachi, he had enough. He didn't really care anymore. Didn't feel the need to care. Boys laughed at him, at his slightly effeminate looks. Girls always seem to ask how he got his skin so soft and his hair so shiny.

Kiba, the eldest son of the Inuzuka clan, was the worst of them all. The Inuzuka clan was famed for its dogs. Legend say that the God's themselves gave the first wolves to breed and tame. Kiba was the heir of that famed clan and seemed to think that the second son of the Uchiha clan was far underneath his stature. Inuzuka was the one that had cut his hair with a knife. It was another custom that the sons of the heads of a clan had long hair; it was a sign for honour.

It was after school, a good month ago. Sasuke stayed behind in class to ask Iruka-sensei if he had some more work he could do for extra credit. As he walked out of the building, Kiba grabbed him and pulled him towards the back. There were a few boys waiting, a few were his classmates, others were just a few classes below or above him.

Sasuke was pushed against the wall and restrained, while Kiba pulled a knife. Sasuke struggled and pleaded, "Please don't hurt me. Please, please don't."

The boys around him just laughed at him. Sasuke began to realize that they weren't going to help him, no matter what he did. So he'd hang his head and softly began to cry.

"Did you see that?", Kiba said laughing as he turned to his friends, "He's crying! Just like a girl. What do you want me to do with him?"

The boys started calling things that they wanted to do to him, the more they shouted suggestions at Kiba the more confident they became. The more painful their suggestions became.

"You know what", Kiba said his smile turning ugly, "Let's cut his hair. A man crying has no honour, so he has no need for long hair. Besides with short hair he might look like a real girl like Hinata-chan."

He burst out of laughing, the other boys laughed with him, clapping their hand and yelled at the same time, "Do it! Do it! Do it."

Over and over again. The ugly smile on Kiba's face was back as he turned towards Sasuke. The blade of the knife shone in the evening sun. Sasuke watched helpless as Kiba strode towards him with a determined look in his eyes. He watched as the Inuzuka heir, grabbed his ponytail that hung at the base of his neck and just chopped it off. Boys all around started cheering and slapping Kiba on the back.

"That is what you deserve.", they said as they left, he could still hear there laughter as they walked further and further away from him.

They had left him there. His silent tears were streaming over his cheeks, his shoulders shook and his breathing loud, like he was grasping for air. His once long hair was lying in strands around him. Sasuke tried to pick up as many heaps of hair he could find, he bound them together with his hair tie that had fallen out of his now short hair. He stood up shakily and made his way home.

His father had been angry, especially when he wouldn't tell him who did it. That had let his father believe that Sasuke did it himself.

His mother tried to cut the chopped hair even. It didn't completely work. The short strands in the back, stayed upright, making his hair look suspiciously like a ducks butt. He wasn't the only one who thought so. When Kiba saw his new coupe the next morning, he was teased and bullied with it.

He didn't bring any honour to his family. He with the short hair, he who his father believed didn't honour the custom of honour. He who was repeatedly told by that same father, that he was a disgrace to the family. It's he who has to climb the Mountain of Kyuubi to show his strength, his courage and most importantly his family honour. And he wondered why he had to make that climb, wasn't it so that he didn't bring his family honour. Didn't Itachi do that? So why should he do something he really didn't want to do, when he knew that he wouldn't bring his family honour? Wouldn't make his family proud? Wouldn't make the people of Konoha say, _Sasuke is such a good son_? So why?

He didn't dare tell his mother these things or worse his father. His mother would have understood, he thought, or at least pretended that she did. His father wouldn't have listened. He would have been angry, furious. He always feared his father's anger, it could be dangerous.

So here he was, standing at the foot of the mountain. His mother next to him, nobody else had showed. For those who did the climb there often was a party before they left. It was after all their birthday. But his day was quite. He was lucky that his mother was here standing beside him, smiling reassuringly. He gave a half smile back at her. She hugged him, she smelled like the jasmine that stood tall and proud covered in white blossom in the yard of his home. He would miss her he realized. She pulled back out of his arms and Sasuke noticed that although the smile was still on her face, the tears were streaming down her face.

"Don't cry Okaa-san. I'll be back. Don't worry.", he told her, even though he felt warm inside when he looked at the tears in her eyes. This, he thought, this was a sign of someone who cared. Really cared for _him_. It was heartwarming.

"I know Sasuke-chan. But you're my son and all mothers care for their sons.", she smiled, "Be careful okay. And comeback soon."

She pushed a package into his hands, "A bentou for underway. I packed your favourite, onigiri. And a piece of birthday cake. Take this as well." She reached behind her neck, loosened the string of a necklace, and handed it to Sasuke. It was one of her favourites, he knew. The pendent was a moon crescent made of moonstone. Someone had painted blue butterflies and green leaves on its surface.

"Remember me, okay? Listen,", she placed her hands on his shoulders, "Where ever you are just remember by looking at that pendent that I am waiting for you to come home. That I'm wishing for you to be save. And that I praying to Kyuubi himself, that you will complete your quest."

Sasuke nodded, he would. He knew he would. He tightened the necklace around his neck, making sure that it was secure and took the package from her. She hugged him again and whispered in his ear, "You're a good son Sasuke. I'm proud of you."

Sasuke kissed he cheek and pulled away. He picked up his knapsack and his food.

"Thank you Okaa-san.", he said quietly. He took one last look at her, trying to engrave her into his memories. Her long black hair lose and softly swaying in the wind. Her eyes, the same as his, almost as black as her hair were still shining with unshed tears. Her dress a soft pink colour covered with little flowers. Her sandals dirty, covered with sand of the path.

Sasuke turned and didn't look back. He will be strong. He couldn't climb the mountain for honour, but he could do it to make his mother proud. He would, he thought smiling, be a good son for her.

Tbc.

A/N – Don't worry, I don't hate Kiba. It's just that for this particular story Kiba seemed like the perfect bully.

The next chapter will be up soon, I'm about half way through with writing it. So wish me luck! And review please!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N – I wanted to thank everyone who reviewed this fic! And especially Tama-chan (Tacuma)! She's the greatest, she helped me a lot.  
Also I wanted to say, sorry for taking so long with finishing this chapter. But so as you can see this chapter is long! I hope you like it!

Title: Kyuubi at the Top  
Author: Ami  
Pairing: NaruSasu  
Summary: Sasuke just turned 16 and as a custom of Konoha City he has to climb the Mountain of Kyuubi. But what if he isn't allowed to leave?  
Disclaimer: I don't own.

Chapter 2: The Climb

Sasuke didn't make it very far on his track up the mountain, before he felt the need to sit down again. It was hot. Sweat trickled down his back, soaking the back of his yukata. Why did he have to be born in the middle of July? Why not in another month like March or April, when the air is cool?

He sighed, there was nothing he could do about it. He looked back and saw what could have been his mother walking towards the city. Sasuke briefly wondered what she would say if he ran after her right now. Would she be relieved that he came home? Or would she be disappointed that he didn't finish his climb and therefore dishonoured the custom?

He shook his head, strands of moist raven hair slapped in his face. He couldn't think that way, he mustn't. He had after all promised himself that he would finish this climb. He looked up and sighed again. It was still quite a way before he would reach the top. Slowly he started walking again.

After about a half hour, he stopped for the second time. He was nowhere near the top, nowhere near half way even. But the sun shone strong, it burned the cloth on his back. His hair felt warm to the touch.

He opened his knapsack and pulled out his water bottle and took a generous sip, he was still thirsty but he couldn't risk being without water on this mountain. Especially now, that he was at a very steep part of the mountain. Crossing this part would cost a lot of energy and strength to cross safely.

He looked longingly at his bentou box. He really should save it for later, Sasuke thought, but having a little bit of onigiri right now wouldn't hurt. He had plenty after all. His mother always made too much for him to eat alone, from his lunch packet alone he could feed four people. Sasuke pulled the box out and placed it on his lap. The box was wrapped in a plain light blue scarf. After unwrapping his bentou, Sasuke noticed that there were 3 boxes inside.

The first one revealed a piece of pie. It was quite big and there were what looked like the letters 'Sa' written on top of it. He smiled and sent a silent thank you to his mother, for saving him a piece. Sasuke placed the pie aside, with the thought that he would eat it later. Maybe to celebrate when he got to the top.

His second and third boxes revealed onigiri and a few tomatoes. He knew that the tomatoes were from his very own garden. Sasuke and his mother had planted a kitchen garden in a corner of the backyard. It was a part of garden that was never used, so the two of them used it to build their very own kitchen garden. Their latest project was planting tomatoes since both he and his mother loved them. His father didn't care for them, so they were rarely eaten at home.

He picked up a small tomato and popped it into his mouth. He moaned at the taste, the juice flowed inside his mouth. He savoured the taste as long as he could before he had to swallow. Quickly he potted in another, they were really good.

It was too bad that there were so little tomatoes, it was a small plant after all. He couldn't plant more because there was no room and he couldn't possibly grow it bigger without his father finding out. He probably condemned gardening, probably thought that it was a 'woman' thing and not good enough for even the second son of this clan.

He sighed and broke a piece of onigiri. Thinking about his father always got him down. The pressing guild was still there, as was the need to be appreciated for his actions. He wondered sometimes what his life would have been like if he was the eldest son and not Itachi. Would he have been praised for his actions like Itachi is now? Could that even be possible?

In this life he hadn't been praised much, sure Iruka-sensei sometimes complimented him sometimes. But that was homework, stuff that any student could do if he or she paid attention to the lesson. Even his mother, who he was convinced cared for him dearly, hadn't praised him out loud. There has been the occasional hug or ruffle of his hair, but other than that she hadn't openly said anything.

He sighed, stacked the boxes on top of each other, wrapped them with the scarf and placed them in his knapsack. Sasuke stood up and looked once again at the top. He could do this, he told himself. And maybe just maybe when he was back home he could hear his mother say that she was proud of him in front of his father and Itachi. With renewed energy he resumed his climb, this time at a much quicker pace.

Sasuke had to admit that even tough it was very hot, this climb was amazing. He had never been out of the village, hadn't visited other places of Konoha. So he hadn't seen a lot. But when he looked around here on this mountain side, he couldn't believe his eyes, there were so many different trees.

And the birds they were in practically every colour. The ones in the garden back home are usually brown, unless they were crows who had silky black feathers. But these birds were bright red and blue and green. Sasuke stared at them in wonder. When he got back he would ask Iruka-sensei about the birds. His teacher probably knew them by name.

Suddenly in the corner of his eye he saw a flash of reddish orange. He turned to look and saw a couple of foxes. He smiled, he hadn't seen those before. The foxes looked kind of young, still full of fluff. Sasuke looked around and wondered if maybe the little ones parents were nearby. He didn't see any other foxes however.

After watching the two small foxes closely he noticed that one of them was hurt, he was walking funny and pulled his leg with every step he took. Sasuke stared at it for a while, assessing what he could do to help the little fox.

First, he thought, he should bandage its paw, so it wouldn't worsen its injury. With that in mind Sasuke slowly stepped forward, carefully making sure that he wouldn't scare the foxes. He crouched when he saw the healthy fox sniff the air and take of in the opposite direction than were Sasuke was. Sasuke cursed, he should have been more careful. The foxes were probably family and now he torn them apart. He moved forward again, when the injured fox gave a pained mewl. The pressing need to help the little creature was still on his mind.

"Hey, there.", Sasuke cooed at the fox trying to calm him down so that he could touch it, "Don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you."

He stretched his arm out to gently touch the animal, it whined softly but let itself be touched. Sasuke reassured that the fox wasn't about to attack him for touching it, started to stroke its soft red fur. Sasuke smiled when the fox softly purred under the attention that it received.

Sasuke let his knapsack drop to the ground, opened it with one hand as the other was still stroking the fox's fur and pulled out a cotton handkerchief. Turning his full attention to the fox, he picked the creature up from his resting place.

"Shh. I'm just trying to help you. Shh.", Sasuke cooed to the fox that was weakly trying to struggle from his grip. "Don't worry little one. I'm not going to hurt you. Shh, don't struggle so much, you're only going to hurt yourself."

Sasuke quickly bound the handkerchief around the fox's paw, making sure that it wasn't too tight. After Sasuke let go of the fox's paw, the little one curled up in his lap, hiding his snout into his big fluffy tail. Sasuke watched it, the fox should have some medical care, he decided.

He looked up; the monk at the top probably knows what to do. With that in mind, Sasuke pulled at long plain blue scarf that was formerly wrapped around his bentou, around the fox and himself, creating a kind of carrier for the fox to be safely transported without the possibility that the little animal would hurt his paw further.

Sasuke stood up slowly making sure he didn't disturb the fox. He grabbed his knapsack from the ground and tied in around his back. His arms went around the fox to further support the little creature and to make sure that it didn't struggle.

Because Sasuke was watching and softly crooning against the fox, he wasn't watching the road and tripped over some stones. He fell heavily on his knees. He hissed as he let his self fall sideways on to his back. The fox in his arms gave a high keening sound; he immediately started making sure that the little creature was okay. He wouldn't be able to stand it, if he made the injury worsen while he promised that he would keep the save from harm.

He laughed watery when he noticed that the fox was okay, but just a bit frightened by the fall. The tears were streaming down Sasuke's face and he silently thanked Kyuubi. Sasuke sat up and rubbed the fox's fur as long as he needed to calm the fox down. With the newly calmed and softly purring fox in his arms, Sasuke tried to stand up. He screamed in pain and fell down to the ground immediately, successfully scaring the fox again. He started stroking the animal's fur again as he inspected his knees. They seemed fine. Yes, they were injured and yes, it hurt, but from what Sasuke could see, they were only scrapes.

His calves showed some red spots that would later turn into bruises. Sasuke knew because he could already feel the sting when he skimmed the spots with his fingers. Feeling lower he found out why he couldn't walk. By the look of it, Sasuke had sprained his ankle. His ankle was slightly swollen and already turning a nasty shade of purple.

"By Kyuubi", Sasuke said, "Why do these things always happen to me?"

He shifted his leg so that he wouldn't feel that much pain. The funny thing was that now that he knew that he was injured there, he could constantly feel his ankle throb with pain.

"This probably hadn't happened with Itachi.", Sasuke muttered under his breath, "No, Itachi would probably be the one who would help people that this happened to. The basterd."

What was he going to do now, Sasuke wondered, he had to get the fox to the top to get medical care. He had to complete the custom so that he could go home. But if he couldn't walk then those things were out of reach for him. Oh what should he do? What should he do? He couldn't really think of anything. He couldn't try to walk anywhere without the risk of worsen his own injury. If he broke his foot he really couldn't walk. Silent tears were streaming down his face again; he slammed his fist into the ground next to him. Kuso, why couldn't he do just one thing right?

Because Sasuke was so lost in his world of woes, he didn't hear the crunching sound of footsteps behind his.

"Are you okay?", came the voice.

Sasuke jumped in fright, nearly losing his grip on the fox that was resting on his tummy. He looked behind him at the person who practically scared the live out of him. Sasuke found himself looking into a pair of bright blue eyes. The person who scared him had blond hair that was spiked and held out of his eyes by a black band that was wrapped around his forehead. He was wearing a bright orange t-shirt with a yellow spiral printed on it, the sleeves were rolled up to his armpits. Underneath the boy was wearing khaki shorts and what seemed comfortable climbing shoes.

To Sasuke it was clear that this boy wasn't from the part of Konoha he was familiar with. At home most women as well as men wore yukata. He knew that not all of Konoha dressed that way. Itachi often came home with strange clothes and dresses for their mother from his travels. Silently he wondered were the boy in front of him was from, he didn't dare ask him. What if he was considered rude? His family would be brought to shame.

"Hey, are you okay?", the blond boy asked again. Sasuke quickly transferred his gaze to the ground and shook his head.

"What's wrong?" the boy asked.

Sasuke silently pointed towards his right ankle, "I hurt it.", he replied softly.

Sasuke watched surprised as the boy dropped his backpack and started inspecting his swollen ankle. Are all people this nice in other parts of Konoha? Sasuke was almost sure that if Kiba saw him here stranded on the mountain side that he wouldn't come and help him. He also doubted that if Kiba decided to inspect a bruised ankle he wouldn't do it as gentle as the boy in front of him.

The blond's fingers gently brushed the sensitive ankle, making sure not to press to hard to hurt Sasuke. It was quite refreshing to have someone other than his mother, gently inspecting his injuries. Although he doubted that this boy would kiss his scrapes on his knees better, like his mother would have done.

"Ah, I see you sprained your ankle. You really shouldn't walk any further." The blond was smiling as he looked up. Sasuke suddenly felt paralysed by the boy's blue stare.

"What you got there?", the blond asked looking at Sasuke's chest, Sasuke followed his stare to the little fox that was resting on his chest. It seemed to have fallen asleep. Sasuke smiled a little and petted the reddish fur.

"It's a little fox," he replied a bit unsure of himself, "It was injured. I was hoping that the monk at the top could help him."

When Sasuke looked up he saw that the blond boy had a peculiar look on his face. One that Sasuke couldn't describe, he assumed that it was because the blond thought that he was the one to injure the fox in the first place. He started to panic, the first even person his age that was nice to him, probably though that he was cruel to animals.

"I didn't hurt it," Sasuke sputtered hoping to change the boy's opinion of him, "I found it I the bushes over there. It had injured its paw and I bandaged it."

"I didn't think you did," the blond boy replied with an amused expression on his face, "If you had you would be full of scratch and bite marks. Foxes can take care of themselves against human, you know?" The blond carefully picked up the sleeping animal and exterminated it.

"You should stop calling him, it. This kit is male," he said as he placed the fox back onto Sasuke's chest.

"Kit?", Sasuke asked. What is he talking about? What is a kit? Sasuke thought silently. He didn't dare asked out loud, didn't want to sound stupid.

"Yes, a kit. You know a baby fox," the boy replied as he softly stroking the fox's fur, "It seems that this is a Red Fox. This is quite strange as the species doesn't really like humans and prefers to stay away from them. He seems to like you, though. Falling asleep like that is a sure sign that he felled safe. The kit is relying on you to protect it."

Sasuke smiled at the words. So the fox trusted him, that is nice to know. At least somebody does have faith in him. But the kit really should have medical care. Sasuke didn't know how serious the injury was.

Sasuke looked at the boy in front of him, who was still petting the fox, a fond smile on his face. The blond seemed like a person who would take care of the kit. Sasuke bit his lip; it was probably for the best that he gave the fox to the boy. He could bring the fox to a vet or something. Sasuke couldn't even walk right now, so that could mean the death of the little creature.

Decided he said the boy with a determinate tone, "Take the fox and help him for me. I can't walk and so I can't help him. You can't let it die here."

The boy looked at him surprised at the request, then the grinned at Sasuke. "Actually I was going to help you both, if you don't mind."

He looked at Sasuke's gobsmacked face, "What? You didn't think I would leave you here now, did you?"

If Sasuke had been honest he would have said that he had in fact thought that very thing. But to not try and offended the boy who offered to help him to the top, he shook his head.

"Okay then, Let's get going!", the blond boy said as he picked up his bag.

Sasuke watched as the blond pulled on his bag so that the bulk was at the front. Sasuke frowned, why did the blond do that? Wasn't it better to carry the bag on his back? Strange people those out-of-towners, he thought to himself.

"Can you stand?", the boy asked, "If not I'll help you."

"I can't.", Sasuke replied softly, hating that he showed a weakness. He was brought up by his father to never show weakness. What would his father think of him now, he wondered.

The blond grabbed Sasuke's upper arm and started pulling him upright, "Just shift your weight to your uninjured foot and you will be fine."

The boy turned his back and crouched before him. Sasuke stared at the orange t-shirt clad back and wondered what it was he was supposed to do.

"Well get on! Or do you want to wait till pigs are starting to fly!"

Sasuke suddenly realized that he was supposed to climb _on _the boy's back. He was getting a piggyback ride! He hadn't had one since he was six years old, when he had scrapped his knee and Itachi took him home. Sasuke slowly let himself fall onto the boy's back, making sure that he didn't squash the fox.

When successfully made it onto the blond's back, the blond asked, "How's the fox?"

"Purring."

"Ah, that's good then."

And with that he stood up. Sasuke, who hadn't expected for the blond to get up right now, grabbed the boy's upper arms, dug his fingers in and squeezed tightly.

The blond hissed, "If you want me to carry you to the top, I'll be needing my arms. So could you maybe stop blocking my blood flow, before my arms start to fall off?"

Sasuke quickly released his grip on the boy's upper arms and placed them on his shoulders.

"Ah, much better," the boy groaned, "By the way, I'm Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto. What's your name?" Fishcake?, Sasuke thought, who would name their child after a ramen ingredient? Really weird.

"…Sasuke.", he answered, Naruto probably thought Sasuke was a weird name too.

"Okay, hold on! I'm going to walk now," Naruto said as he turned around slowly as to not disturb his passengers on his back, "So your name is Sasuke. SaSuKe. I like it." So apparently Naruto not only has a weird name but is strange as well. Fitting.

"Sasuke, where you from?", Naruto asked.

"…East-Konoha.", he replied softly. The east of Konoha consisted mostly of agriculture and paddocks. Sasuke's father owns quite a lot of land. The Uchiha family became quite rich with the trade in cattle, wheat and rice.

"Oh! I went to the east a few times. They've got the best dango I've ever tasted!", Naruto said happily.

"Hn." Sasuke tasted the dango once. It was at a spring festival, it had been the first time that he could come. He had been seven and his father thought that seven was a respectable age to attend to such a festival. He remembered that he had a really good time; he and his mother each caught a goldfish at one of the stands. Passing a dango stand his mother bought some, Sasuke, who was always a curious child, wanted to try it. He hadn't had dango before and was intrigued by the three small balls on a stick. When he took a bite however, he found the dango so sweet he wanted to hurl. Bean curd had never been his favourite and to his surprise this piece of dango contained it. Needless to say, Sasuke never ate dango again.

Sasuke shifted the fox a little; he had fallen asleep on Naruto's back. Naruto remained obvious of Sasuke's wandering thoughts and was still ranting on about 'the best dango he ever had'.

"Hey, Sasuke?", Naruto questioned, the lilt of his voice at that time seemed suspicious to Sasuke. The question that would follow, wouldn't be about dango, he knew. That lilt was the same one his mother always has when she would ask him about embarrassing things.

So he answered with a cautious, "…hn?"

"Why exactly were you on this mountain? Boys from the south I could understand. Kyuubi Mountain is after all a tourist attraction in the south. In the west it is some sort of 'I dare you to', kind of thing. The mountain side isn't really as steep as other parts on that side anyway. So what would a country guy like you be doing on a mountain?"

"…The custom." To be honest, Sasuke was a little embarrassed. The question wasn't really as bad as he had been expecting. But it was embarrassing to hear that other parts of Konoha didn't do the same custom that he currently was doing. The way the east always went on about it, he would have expected it to be a huge thing in all of Konoha. But this boy, Naruto didn't seem to have heard of it.

"…Really?", Naruto answered.

Warning bells sounded in Sasuke's head. Something was really wrong with the way Naruto answered. The blond seemed, to Sasuke at least, quite cheerful and a motor-mouth. But Naruto had suddenly become quiet and even though Sasuke couldn't see his face, he knew there wasn't a smile gracing it.

Even after Naruto started ranting again – this time about to oldness of the customs the east still participated in – he couldn't shake off the feeling he missed something. He spent most of the trip to the top pondering that very thing.

The temple was cut out of stone. The shapes of foxes, flowers, trees and other animal live were carved into the front. Two huge nine tailed foxed stood like pillars next to the doors of the temple. Naruto, however, didn't carry him to those doors, but to a set of smaller ones round the side.

Stumbling inside Naruto yelled, "Kakashi, you pervert! Put down the porn and come help me!"

Sasuke looked around the room. It was small with a big wooden table in the middle of the room. The walls were bare and there was another door leading to what seemed a back room.

Naruto crouched before a chair and let Sasuke slowly slide of his back. The fox – a little disgruntled at being disturbed in his sleep – hissed threateningly at his surroundings from the blue sling.

"Wait here for a sec, Sasuke.", Naruto said as he walked towards the door.

Sasuke watched him go, he listened to the boys footsteps as he walked away. After a while he could also hear the murmur of voices through the stone walls. Sasuke took the fox from the sling and placed the kit in his lap. He kept making a keening noise, each time louder than the next. The fox was probably hungry, Sasuke guessed, he would have wanted to feed the little one, but he didn't know what foxes ate. What if he gave the kit something that was bad for him, what if he got sick or worse, died. So the only thing that he thought he could do right now is pet the fox's fur and wait for Naruto to come back. It seemed that the blond knew quite a lot about foxes, so Sasuke hoped that he would be able to feed the little animal.

When Naruto returned he wasn't alone, a man with grey hair and his face almost completely covered was walking behind him.

"Sasuke, this is Kakashi. He is one of the monks of the temple," Naruto introduced pointing a thumb behind him. "Kakashi you know were to find me if you need me."

And with that Naruto strode outside.

Sasuke looked on confused, did he do something wrong? Had he somehow offended the blond? Suddenly Sasuke felt a little sad and also a bit lonely. Apparently the blond didn't want to be friends with Sasuke not that that was new, almost nobody did. But why did he feel so disappointed in himself, he hadn't felt this way for a long time now. He got used to being alone. Well, he thought, he'll just have to get used to it again.

Kakashi dragged a chair, placed it in front of him and said, "So Sasuke, I heard from Naruto-baka that you sprained your ankle. Let's see if we can bandage it for you."

Kakashi picked a set of bandages from a white box. Sasuke could have sworn that that box wasn't on the table before. Odd. "So I heard you're from the east. They've got the best dango from whole Konoha. I could kill for some now. Dango is the best snack for reading Icha Icha Paradise."

It was then that Sasuke came to the conclusion that he was surrounded by freaks. Dango eating freaks.

Sasuke hissed as Kakashi placed a hand on his ankle and pulled it up. He winced at the sight of his ankle; it had doubled in size and was a dark shade of purple.

"Don't worry about Naruto," Kakashi said as he started wrapping the bandage around Sasuke's foot, "He'll be back. He's just unloading his bag and doing some other things."

When he saw Sasuke look at him, his only eye, that wasn't covered started to twinkle, "You were worried, weren't you?"

Sasuke felt his cheeks slowly turning red as he quickly looked down to the fox in his lap. Indeed he had been worried, but how did Kakashi know that? Was he that easy to read?

"So your ankle should be healed in a couple of days," the grey haired man said as he placed Sasuke's ankle back on the ground, "You shouldn't force it just yet. So don't walk around much and if you do walk with crushes. Make sure that your ankle doesn't support your weight."

"Kakashi-san? Could you look after this kit for me?", Sasuke said as he held up the fox to Kakashi, "He needs medical care. His paw is injured and I don't know if it's serious or not. He's also hungry. Do you know what foxes eat?"

Kakashi stared at the fox in Sasuke's grip, hummed a bit but didn't take it from him.

"Rest assured. It seems that the injury isn't that serious. Jiraiya-sama, another monk in this temple, will probably now what to do. He isn't here right now, but he is expected to arrive in a few hours. Why don't you go pray, in the meantime?"

Kakashi handed Sasuke a pair of wooden crushes. He took the fox and cradled the little one to his chest and walked towards the room he came out of. Sasuke laboriously got up from his chair, balancing between staying up right and not putting his weight on his injured foot. When he finally got his grip on the crutches he started slowly moving towards the exit, the same door Naruto walked out of not that long ago.

Once again in the outside, Sasuke noticed that unlike the heat at the bottom of the mountain, up here it was nice and cool. Why hadn't he noticed that before?, he thought. It was probably because he was leaning against Naruto, that guy gave of heat like a furnace.

Sasuke hobbled towards the huge set of doors, he saw earlier and pushed them open. Because of their size Sasuke thought they would be heavy and thus difficult to open in his state. But when he pushed his weight against it, he found that they opened fairly easily. It almost took no effort to open them.

When he finally was inside of the temple, he was amazed. Sasuke thought it would be a dreary place since the temple didn't have any windows. But it was nice and airy. The walls were painted white and decorated with gold and a blue that reminded him of Naruto's eyes. In the back of the temple there was an altar with a big stone nine tails fox on it. The statue was decorated with flowers, in different kind of colours. From were he was standing he could smell their sweet scent. The only light in the room came from what seemed like thousands of white candles. It was odd, because it wasn't really that warm in the temple like Sasuke would have expected with so many burning candles. It was beautiful.

Sasuke stumbled towards the altar, still in awe of his surroundings. He crouched down before the statue, setting his crushes to the side and fished out of his knapsack two small boxes. In each of the boxes there were flowers that grew in the east as offer to Kyuubi. One contained a sunflower, a flower that was harvested in the east for its seed. The other contained yellow poppy flowers and small cattails, these grew in or near the paddocks where the cows graze. They stood for wealth, prosperity and peace, wishes from the village and what Sasuke would be asking from Kyuubi. Sasuke placed the flowers on the altar, in between the statue's feet, and clasped his hand together.

"By Kyuubi, please with this prayer I ask of you peace, prosperity and wealth for East-Konoha," Sasuke muttered the sentence under his breath a few times.

"Do you think you deserve asking that from me?", the question echoed through to temple hall, "Well do you?"

Sasuke looked around the temple, but couldn't place were the voice was coming from.

"I'm here," the voice said, it was coming from the shadows behind the statue.

Two burning red eyes with split pupils looked at Sasuke from the darkness. Sasuke scrambled backwards, he got a very bad feeling about it all. The temple had been peaceful at first, but now Sasuke could feel a tension in the air. It felt smothering and burning hot.

"What couldn't answer my question, little human?" the voice mocked, "Well than let me force it out of you."

And suddenly Sasuke saw Naruto stepping out of the shadows. "…Naruto?" he asked.

"Guess again!" Naruto smirked, only it wasn't really Naruto. This boy in front of him had red eyes, not like Naruto's blue. And there were nine reddish tails with white tips sweeping behind him.

"Kyuubi," Sasuke said glaring at the god.

"That is right, puny human. You do know who I am," the god chuckled evilly.

Kyuubi stalked forward, crouched in front of Sasuke and grabbed Sasuke's chin between his fingers. The sharp nails were digging into his soft skin. Just inches away from tearing the skin open.

"Tell me, why do you think you deserve it?"

"Why wouldn't I deserve it?", Sasuke countered, still glaring.

Kyuubi chuckled, "Why indeed? Because you haven't completed the custom by yourself, maybe."

Sasuke kept silent, he knew that it was true. He hadn't completed the custom on his own, he had help from Naruto.

"So tell me. Do you think you deserve to ask wealth, prosperity and peace of me, when you didn't complete the climb on your own?" Kyuubi's eyes twinkled with mirth.

Sasuke looked down, suddenly feeling ashamed of himself and scared of what Kyuubi might do. He hadn't completed his task as he should have done. What consequents would that hold for him or for the village, he wondered.

Kyuubi pulled his chin up; Sasuke noticed that there was a mischievous grin on Kyuubi's face.

"Look at me," he demanded, "I will grant you your wish to the best of my ability, but you will be in my debt."

Kyuubi's grin turned feral, "And I plan to collect it now."

Tbc.

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So tell me what you think! Please? I love the ending myself. I'm really proud of it!

I don't know when I will be updating next. Probably in a month or so, since school is keeping me busy right now. I can't guarantee that chapter 3 is as long as this one, but I will try of course.


	3. Chapter 3

Kyuubi at the top

A/N – I'm alive! I finally finished this chapter. I'm really busy with school at the moment. And I started taking an interest in the Harry/Draco fandom, for which I wrote some fanfiction. Those fanfics can be viewed at my livejournal (link is in my profile), I will post them here soon though.

I wanted to thank everyone who reviewed! Thank you, Tama-chan for making my text readable. Thank you, Alley-Oop for pointing out some mistakes I made in my last chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own

Chapter 3: Dept Revealed

Kyuubi's grin turned feral, "And I plan to collect it now."

Sasuke stared at Kyuubi, wondering what the fox god would want to ask of him. Could it be his life? He hadn't heard of anyone being killed by Kyuubi before, but who knew what such a creature could do to someone like Sasuke. Maybe he was going to eat him? Those teeth looked really painful, and were probably capable to tear through flesh and bone.

"You my dear human," Kyuubi said, "Are going to be my mate!"

Sasuke stared at him blankly; the connection between Kyuubi's words hadn't been made yet.

Sasuke's eyes widened as the fox God's face suddenly came closer to his own. He started to struggle against the grip Kyuubi had on his chin.

"Sasuke" the blond whined, "couples are supposed to kiss each other you know. So don't struggle."

Sasuke stopped struggling immediately; not because of the comment but because the sound of the voice had changed. He looked up and found himself staring into blue eyes, instead of red.

"Naruto…" he said slowly. Dumbfounded he stared at the blond. How was that possible? What happened to Kyuubi and why was Naruto in his place? What was going on here? He started to feel light-headed; his mind was racing trying to process the new information. He never could handle stress that well. Sasuke always seemed to be sick the first week of vacation, or after a big test. Even sometimes on his own birthday.

Sasuke could hear Naruto calling his name, but it seemed to come from far away. He felt himself being shaken thoroughly. Sasuke's head flopped back and forth. Fighting dizziness and nausea he let himself fall forward. Sasuke could feel warmth coming through Naruto's shirt. He could hear his racing heartbeat.

The arms that were on his shoulders suddenly warped around his waist. Sasuke suddenly realized that he was being hugged. He lifted his head back up, trying to break out of the embrace, and promptly fainted.

When Sasuke awoke he was looking at a grey stone ceiling. Dreams of warmth and safety he remembered. A soft murmur and hands petting his hair. He closed his eyes and dozed for a bit, trying to recapture the feeling of those dreams.

The feeling of safety didn't return as reality came crashing down. The warmth however remained. Opening his eyes he looked around the room, it didn't seem that special. It looked like the room was carved out of the mountain; the walls were uneven and contained gashes here and there.

In the corner of the room, close to the bed stood a table with a few chairs. An extremely familiar yukata was hanging on the back of one of the chair. It was then that Sasuke realized that he was naked. He sat up with the intention of getting his clothes, and promptly laid down again. He shivered. It was extremely cold in the room. He didn't want to be exposed to the cold again, but he really wanted his clothes. He didn't like being naked. He stared at his clothes, willing them to come to him. What do to do? What to do?

The door on the far side of the room suddenly opened, bringing a draught of colder air with it. A man that Sasuke recognized as the monk of the temple walked towards the table.

"Ah, you're awake, Sasuke-chan," he said his right eye, the only visible part of his face, crinkled. To Sasuke it seemed like he was smiling.

"Don't call me that," he mumbled into the blankets. He wasn't a child or a girl after all. Besides he didn't know the man, and he was using his first name so familiarly. It wasn't proper; Sasuke hadn't given him any permission to use his name.

"Mah, Mah, Sasuke-chan don't be like that," the man continued, "I've brought you breakfast." It was official, Sasuke decided, he hated that man.

"Breakfast?" Sasuke asked. How long had he been asleep? It was closer to evening when he arrived at the temple yesterday.

"Yes, breakfast. You slept for about 14 hours. I was considering asking Naruto to kiss you awake. You were like a modern day Sleeping Beauty," the man chuckled, "I doubt that Naruto would have minded being your Prince Charming. Especially since you are going to be married soon, at least that is what I heard."

Naruto? Married? The thoughts flickered through his mind, bringing the memories of yesterday with them. He had forgotten, what had happened, when he had been praying at the temple. But now he remembered clearly. He had met Kyuubi, and he had demented for a return for the favours Sasuke had asked. Then the fox said something about being a mate, and then Naruto suddenly arrived. How and when Naruto arrived, was unclear to Sasuke. One second he had Kyuubi in front of him and the next Naruto was there. What had happened? He looked at the man as he placed the food on the table. Maybe he would know…

"Who are you?" Sasuke asked the man.

"Hmmm, I'm Hatake Kakashi, monk of the temple at your service," he picked up Sasuke's yukata from the chair and threw it at him, "Now get dressed. You don't want you food to get cold now would you?"

Kakashi turned around giving Sasuke some privacy while he dressed. Sasuke pulled on the yukata as quickly as he could. He was reluctant to step out from under the covers. Even with his clothes on the room was cold. And the floor didn't look much warmer. He was going to freeze his toes off as soon as he placed his foot on the ground.

Kakashi seemed to notice, that Sasuke was shivering from the cold and placed a long shawl around his shoulders. "I'm sorry," he said, "I sometimes forget that others find it really cold in here. I'm long since used to it." The monk fished something from the big pockets from his overcoat and threw this next to Sasuke on the bed, "Here. Put those on. They should be nice and warm."

Unwrapping the white cotton ball that the man had given him, Sasuke noticed that they were socks. Huge, tick white socks. He quickly put them on, and sighed. Kakashi was right; they were nice and warm. He stepped out of bed, tightened the shawl around his shoulders and pulled out a chair. Breakfast looked delicious. White rice, miso soup, Tamagoyaki and grilled fish. His mouth watered at the sight. He noticed that Kakashi was sitting across from him with an identical looking breakfast in front of him. He sat down and grabbed his chopsticks.

"Itadakimasu," they both said. Sasuke picked up a piece of omelette with his chopsticks and ate it. He froze and looked down his plate. This was really good! Better even than his mother made them. He quickly ate another piece.

"Good, isn't it? They are from the South. The Akimichi family runs a restaurant there. It is very popular," Kakashi said. Sasuke blushed; the monk had noticed that he absolutely loved the food. By Kyuubi that was embarrassing. Speaking about Kyuubi, he really should ask the monk what he knew.

"Naruto…" he started, but before he could finish his sentence Kakashi answered.

"Such a good wife you'll make, Sasuke-chan. Asking about his future husband all worried," Kakashi's eye crinkled again, "Don't worry. Naruto is out at work. He works in the South, at a ramen stall. Beside a man shouldn't see his bride before the big day, now should he? It brings bad luck. He'll be happy you asked for him, though."

Sasuke sat there stunned. His mouth hung open, displaying a thoroughly chewed piece of what used to be grilled fish. How could someone misunderstand him so? And call him a _wife_? Who was worried? He wasn't, that was sure. He glared at the man.

"Kakashi-san," he began, "I didn't need to know that. I want to know what Naruto is."

Kakashi turned serious, all amusement left his eye, "Naruto is Naruto. No more, no less. Why do you ask?"

"There…In the temple something weird happened. Kyuubi was there and suddenly Naruto…" Sasuke sighed. The man probably thought he was insane.

"You mean that Kyuubi suddenly transformed into Naruto?" Sasuke looked at the man. Kakashi still looked serious, so that had to mean that he wasn't playing a joke on Sasuke. Could it be that it was real? He nodded.

Kakashi sighed, "You really should ask Naruto, I don't think he would mind if I'll tell you some of it now. Naruto is the Kyuubi. Or at least part of it. Naruto's father was a full-blooded fox-demon. He was called Minato, and he protected Konoha, that was when the religion of Kyuubi started. Minato lived here on top of the mountain.

"But Minato was alone. Not in his kind, there were others, but they lived further north. Minato had no intention of moving and leaving this village unprotected. Then one day, he met a human woman in the South of Konoha. They fell in love. She accepted Minato as he was. She knew that he was a full-blooded demon and still loved him.

"Then disaster struck. Minato was killed during a fight in the North of Konoha. The North was, and still in for that matter, quite unruly. The woman, Kushina, was left behind, pregnant with his child. That child she called Naruto. She died when Naruto was seven years old."

"So Naruto is a fox-demon," Sasuke asked wide-eyed.

Kakashi nodded, "Yes, he is a half-blooded fox-demon. Kind of like a magical creature if you think about it."

Sasuke just sat there. He didn't know what to think anymore. Naruto was a

fox-demon. Naruto was some kind of magical creature. And Naruto who was so powerful, that he could get someone powerful too, chose Sasuke to be married to.

Kakashi stood up, picked up his empty bowls and walked towards the door, "Don't worry about your fox. The vet took a look at him and he is okay. His paw is just a little sprained. He should be okay in about a few days."

The monk closed the door behind him, leaving Sasuke to his thoughts.

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A/N – For those who don't know Tamagoyaki is rolled omelette.

I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. I spent a lot of time writing and rewriting it. So tell me what you think! Thanks for reading!


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